GHHF International Day of Yoga message is “Yoga for One Earth, One Health.
Prakasarao V Velagapudi, PhD
President, Global Hindu Heritage Foundation.
On this International Day of Yoga on June 21, we will try to address yoga, its importance, its relevance to the youth, its benefits, its role in bringing unity and harmony among individuals as well as in the universe, and the importance of ashtanga yoga – that is, the eight limbs of Patanjali Yoga. The theme of International Day of Yoga has been decided by the United Nations as “Yoga for well-being”
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his address to the UN General Assembly in September 2014, had asked world leaders to adopt an international Yoga Day, saying “Yoga embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfillment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and wellbeing. Yoga is not just about exercise; it is a way to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world, and the nature.”
PM Narendra Modi led the 11th International Day of Yoga in Visakhapatnam on June 21, 2025. He said that Yoga can promote peace amid the ongoing conflicts across the globe. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan also participated in the Yoda session.
PM Modi said, “Unfortunately, today the entire world is going through some tension, unrest, and instability have been increasing in many regions. In such times, Yoga gives us the direction of peace. Yoga is the pause button that humanity needs to breathe, balance, and become whole again,”
“Human well-being depends on the health of the soil that grows our food, the rivers that give us water, the health of the animals that share our ecosystems, and the plants that nourish us. Yoga awakens us to this interconnectedness, leads us on a journey towards oneness with the world, and teaches us that we are not isolated individuals but part of nature.”
For millennia, our ancient Rishis have recognized the importance of controlling or subduing the mind in order to live a peaceful, harmonious, and unified life. Because the mind is the most difficult to restrain, control or silence.
International Yoga Day 2025 Theme: “Yoga for One Earth, One Health.”
Protect Earth
What is 'Yoga for One Earth, One Health?' Mass events, environmental drives, and inclusive sessions mark the celebrations, encouraging people to embrace yoga as a daily habit for a balanced, eco-conscious life.
“Earth Day was celebrated on April 22nd of every year. In Indian tradition, the entire Prithvi or Earth is akin to our mother, and she belongs to everyone – all living beings – all flora and fauna. Save Mother Earth! Save all life on the planet!” Rig Veda 1:164:33
In Vedic culture, the earth is considered the divine mother and human-beings as her offspring. Thus, to the Vedic people, the Earth was an object of worship, and its bountiful natural resources were utilized to meet the bare minimum needs for the survival of the human-race and not for satisfying its endless greed and wants.
A Hymn in Prithvi Sukta in Atharva Veda, is the foremost inspirational ecological proclamation. Through this, we earnestly vouch for the ever-lasting allegiance to Mother Earth befitting a son: Mata Bhumih Putroham Prithivyah- Earth is my mother, I am her son. Rig Veda (8.8.49.4) contemplates that ‘United be your purpose, harmonious be your feelings, collected be your mind, in the same way as all the various aspects of the universe exist in interconnectedness, wholeness and oneness’.
Prithvi Sukta says ‘O Mother Earth! Be kind to us and bestow happiness upon us. May you be fertile, arable, and nourisher of all? May you continue supporting people of all races and nations?’ Other celebrated Vedic references concerning the conservation of nature are do not cut trees because they remove pollution (Rig Veda 6:48:17); one should protect the habitation (Rig Veda 6:71:3); do not disturb the sky and do not pollute the atmosphere (Yajur Veda 5:43) etc. Through these, Mother Earth’s blessings are sought for the prosperity of all animate and inanimate entities and the fulfilment of all righteous aspirations of the human race. We solemnize Mother Earth for all her natural bounties, especially for her gifts of water, herbs and vegetation, and we pray for the wellness of the sky, hills, mountains, rivers, clouds, seas and oceans and wish that all components of earth remain healthy.
One Health:
The state of the environment has a direct impact on our health as well. Everyone benefits when we take care of our environment and ourselves. Maintaining good health is crucial for fulfilling life, impacting physical, mental, and emotional well-being, productivity, and even financial stability. The environment and human health are inextricably linked. A healthy environment is essential for supporting human life and well-being for a healthy society.
The air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, chemicals we use in the house, buildings and neighborhoods we live and work in can all contribute to environmental health problems, sometimes by disrupting how the body works. Environment relates to many health problems such as asthma, cancer, weight gain, lethargy, Parkinson disease, and others.
Ayurveda, an ancient Indian system of medicine, focuses on preserving health and wellness through a holistic approach that balances mind, body, and spirit. It emphasizes disease prevention and maintaining harmony within oneself and with nature. Key aspects include understanding one's unique constitution (Prakriti), balancing the three doshas (Vata, Pitta, and Kapha), and adopting a healthy lifestyle through diet, exercise, and mindful practices.
World Health Organization says “Good Health of the nation depends on clean air, a stable climate, a preserved natural environment, as well as access to adequate water, sanitation and hygiene. It also requires protection from harmful radiation, unsafe chemical management and unhealthy working conditions. A healthy environment could prevent nearly a quarter of the global disease burden.”
Vedic culture taught us that human beings are not the supreme species and have no right to dominate or conquer other entities. Vedas advised us to live in a co-existential mindset. Ishavasya Upanishad verse-1 says that Isavasyamidam sarvam yatkinca jagatyam jagat; Tena tyaktena bhunjitha ma grdhah kasya sviddhaman; meaning that ‘All natural resources belong to the God and our share is the bare minimum necessary for survival and earn without committing sins.”
How “Yoga for One Earth and One Health” is related to Yoga and meditation. We all have the responsibility to ensure that all sustaining components Mother Earth are preserved and protected. We must be motivated and take ownership in protecting Mother Earth from different points of view. As Rigveda says, after all, ‘Wisdom comes to a man, who meditates, acts and lives according to the true eternal laws of Nature' (Rig Veda).
How Meditation helps us to protect Mother Earth and the Health of a Nation?
Paramahansa Yogananda recognized the difficulty and compared the controlling mind with impossible incidents as follows:
“You may control a mad elephant;
You may shut the mouth of the bear and the tiger;
Ride the lion and play with the cobra;
By alchemy you may learn your livelihood;
You may wander through the universe incognito;
Make vassals of the gods; be ever youthful;
You may walk in water and live in fire;
But control of the mind is better and more difficult.”
If the mind is that difficult to control, what can be done to quell, still or silence the mind. Patanjali Yoga Sutras written sometime between 500 BCE and 400 BCE. It contains four chapters containing 195 Sutras (aphorisms). The whole book hinges on the second sutra “yogah citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ.”(“Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind”). Yoga means of “joining the individual soul to the universal soul” or removing the barriers between the two souls to become one.
“Yoga is that single universal principle which balances the entire universe. All elements, visible and invisible, as well as all stars, moons and sun systems, are entirely sustained by the balancing principle of Yoga.” Swami Maheshwarananda
Yoga and Meditation have many positive effects on physical and mental health, reduce stress and anxiety, improve educational achievements, mental growth, school performance and many such advantages.
In the USA, the number of yoga practitioners has increased to more than 37 million, up from 20.4 million in 2012. Globally, more than 300 million people are practicing yoga. Also, thirty-four percent of Americans or 80 million people say they are likely to try yoga for the first time in the next 12 months. “What's fascinating is the data shows that those who practice and teach yoga have measurably better perceptions of their individual strength, balance, dexterity, and mental clarity versus non-practitioners," said Yoga Alliance Executive Director and COO, Barbara Dobberthien.
Mayo Clinic asks a question, “is yoga right for you?” It says, “It is if you want to fight stress, get fit and stay healthy”. Numerous studies have well documented the wealth of information on the health and spiritual benefits of yoga. Yoga credited with the reduction of stress and anxiety while at the same time it enhanced the mood and overall well-being. It helped reduce risk factors for chronic diseases, such as heart diseases and high blood pressure, alleviated chronic conditions such as depression, pain and insomnia. It is attributed to improved balance, flexibility in mind and body, range of emotions and strength. Benefits also include muscle strength and tone, improved respiration, energy and vitality, weight reduction, improved athletic performance and increased blood flow.
The study conducted by Richard Davidson at the University of Wisconsin revealed that consistent yoga practice led to a significant increase in the serotonin levels and a decrease in the levels of monoamine oxidase (an enzyme that breaks down neurotransmitters) and cortisol. He also reported that the left prefrontal cortex showed heightened activity in meditators, a finding that has been correlated with greater levels of happiness and better immune function. More dramatic left-sided activation was found in dedicated, long-term practitioners.
The NIH's Center for Complementary and Integrative Health says that yoga – like any exercise – "might improve quality of life; reduce stress; lower heart rate and blood pressure; help relieve anxiety, depression, and insomnia; and improve overall physical fitness, strength, and flexibility." The center also says "a carefully adapted set of yoga poses" may ease lower back pain.
School Yoga
Jessica Mei Gershen, a certified yoga instructor who teaches yoga to children at Brooklyn Yoga Project and founder of Yoga for All Needs, recommends making yoga playful and fun for kids, whether in the classroom or at home. In her yoga classes, Gershen weaves in fun games and stories with positive themes like compassion, gratitude, and strength.
“Yoga is really effective because it’s so tangible. Learning physical postures builds confidence and strength as well as the mind-body connection,” Gershen says. She also has found that the effects of yoga go beyond physical fitness and also allow kids to build confidence and awareness beyond the classroom. “Through yoga, kids start to realize that they are strong and then are able to take that strength, confidence, acceptance, and compassion out into the world,” notes Gershen.
Yoga will help the youth to improve fitness and physical health, reduce stress and anxiety, improve optimism, improve focus, and school performance, improve self-esteem and body image, encourage creativity, improved attention span, improved memory, overall academic improvement, and develop discipline and self-regulation,
In a recent book on yoga education in India, A. Balkrishna claims that “in a nutshell, yoga is a powerful medium for developing the personality of children and making them capable of facing the present-day challenges and problems” [p. 3]. In her review article, “Effect of Yoga on Mental Health in Children,” one of the world’s most prominent yoga researchers, Shirley Telles, concludes that yoga improves children’s physical and mental well-being . Similarly, the Harvard professor Sat Bir Khalsa finds that yoga in schools helps students improve resilience, mood, and self-regulation skills pertaining to emotions and stress. Thus, yoga is an important life skill tool for children and young people to cope with stress and self-regulation from a life-long perspective.
Yoga for the Special Child, developed by Sonia Sumar, is designed to enhance the natural development of children with disabilities. The gentle and therapeutic style of yoga can be used for both babies and children with disabilities. Yoga for the Special Child incorporates yoga poses to increase flexibility and strength with breathing and relaxation techniques to increase focus and reduce hyperactivity.
A healthy body and mind are important for the development of all children. At all grade levels, from preschool through high school, students have shown improved academic and behavioral performance when yoga has been introduced in the school. The Association for School Yoga and Mindfulness continues to advocate for the inclusion of students with disabilities in school yoga programs, emphasizing, once again, that physical activity (yoga, in this case) is for everybody.
Individual Transformation is essential
The individual and society are complementary and supplementary to each other. Yoga plays a pivotal role in establishing the purposeful life among youth who can shape the future of the society. Yoga helps us to become physically and mentally healthy. Without healthy individuals, a healthy society is not possible. Without a healthy society, humanity cannot be at peace. The healthy and transformed individual, in turn, will build up healthy society without any discrimination of caste, creed, colors etc. The practice of Yama Niyamas makes them purify and clean. Therefore, the desirable personal and ethical values help to purify themselves and to transform society. The individual is constantly engaged in examining one’s values. One must recognize that the practice of Yama and Niyama values bring integrity, contentment and peace and bliss; while indifference to these values bring confusion, conflicts, miseries, and misfortunes to themselves and the society. Therefore, the application of yoga for social well-being and social transformation is essential. Practice of Yoga principles is even more important to live as a productive citizen of the country. Ajay Bharadwaj stated that, “ When the sun of yoga will shine over the horizon of the world and society today, the social evils, all the immoral and inhuman behavior will disappear, and the dream of a peaceful, prosperous, blissful, and transformed society will be fulfilled. Yoga, indeed, immerses a person into the essence of Satyam-Shivam-Sundaram and Sat-chit-Ananda (Truth-Bliss-and Consciousness) and therefore, the society having such persons is like a heaven on the earth.”
Yoga is for the humanity
Yoga works on one’s body, mind, and soul. Therefore, it is known as the global art. When our body, mind and soul are healthy and harmonious, we will bring health and harmony to the world-not by withdrawing from the world but by being a healthy living organ of the body of humanity. Therefore, yoga is for the whole world and humanity. Human suffering is the same. We all are humans. Everyone needs physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing for a peaceful, prosperous, and blissful life. And yoga in fact, serves this purpose. Irrespective of the nation and religion, problems facing the body and mind are the same. Diseases and sufferings know no caste, religion or nation, and yoga is given to cure those diseases.
Maharshi Patanjali describes yoga as Sarva Bhauma, that means Universal. Universal monarch
Maharshi Patanjali in Yogasutra 2-31 says:
“Jatides kala samyama vachchhinnah sarvbhauma mahavratam”
“The great vow of restraint is universal to all earthly objects unbound by the conditions of time, place, birth lineage or family.” The practice of five restraints (Yamas) --- non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, devotion to Divine and study or Divine-study, non-attachment --- should be applied universally regardless of religion, time, or the country. Thus, yoga is a Universal culture, or it has Universal appeal? It was evident when 175 nations in the United Nations voted to declare June 21st as International Day of Yoga. This year is even important to observe due to the pandemic that created havoc among people across the globe creating stress, anxiety, depression, isolation, and helplessness. Thus, yoga is meant for the development of the whole of mankind on the physical, mental, and spiritual levels. Yoga is playing a significant role in rehabilitation of Covid patients and people in quarantine. It is yoga which can give permanent solutions associated with environmental and health problems.
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